Source: BBC

The teenage suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings is in custody after being found hiding in a boat in a suburban homeowner’s backyard.

Police said they exchanged gunfire with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, after cornering him in Watertown, near Boston.

He had escaped on foot early on Friday, apparently wounded, after a police shootout that claimed the life of his elder brother, an alleged accomplice.

Three people died and more than 170 were hurt in Monday’s bombings.

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Analysis

Gordon CoreraSecurity correspondent, BBC News

We may know the names of the suspects in the Boston marathon attacks and also much about their lives, but the question of why they did it remains elusive. Recollections of friends and family, as well as the digital data trail people now leave on social media, means we can get a picture of a young brother who seemed to be a well-adjusted student.

The elder brother comes across less well-adjusted, not quite fitting into American life or making friends. Seven years older, some wonder if he drew his younger sibling into his own world in which he seemed to be exploring radical Islamist ideology.

But was this simply about two brothers, a tight-knit bond with no outside support? An organised conspiracy would worry Americans who hoped that era had passed, but in some ways the era of small self-starting groups is just as worrying since they can be much harder to spot.

At a Friday night press conference, US President Barack Obama promised to seek answers on what had motivated the bombers and whether they had help.

He spoke just after state police told journalists that the suspect was being treated at a Massachusetts hospital, bleeding and seriously injured with gunshot wounds to the neck and leg.

The breakthrough came less than an hour after authorities lifted a city-wide order for residents to stay indoors, and reopened the transport system, as the trail appeared to have gone cold.

Authorities captured the suspect following a tip from a resident of Franklin Street, Watertown, who emerged from his home after the lockdown was lifted and noticed blood near the boat.

Upon opening the tarp covering the boat, the resident found a man covered in blood in the stern and called police.